Z.A.K.’s breakthrough campaign for Booking.com featuring Tina Fey was named Super Bowl LVII’s most effective ad in a research study by Kantar.
In the ever-competitive landscape of advertising, where conformity often reigns, Zulu Alpha Kilo (Z.A.K.) strives to be a beacon of contrary thinking, creativity and growth for its clients.
“Sameness is the enemy of creativity,” says agency President and CEO, Mike Sutton. “If you’re a brand that follows the herd, it’s bad for the bottom line. When we get a brief, we ask ourselves ‘how can we solve that in the most unexpected way?”
Campbell Company of Canada launched “Campbell’s pAIntings,” reimagining its soup can with AI, blending styles of traditional masters with modern trends.
Founded by Zak Mroueh in 2008, Z.A.K. has grown to over 180 employees who collaborate across their Toronto, Vancouver and New York offices. It counts brands like Pizza Pizza, Subaru, Bell, Campbells and Booking.com among its clientele and over the past year, its business grew a whopping 42%. It also picked up strategy’s Silver Agency of the year, and landed on AdAge’s 2024 list of Standout Agencies.
Z.A.K. partnered with Environmental Leadership Canada to create “The Planet’s Scariest Bouquet,” urging action on climate change with Antarctic flowers.
Chief operating officer, Christine McNab, believes the shop’s relentless drive for improvement has fueled its success. “It would have been much easier to play it safe, but expanding into new markets and unifying our three offices has made us a stronger agency.”
She points to the recent Booking.com global campaign featuring Tina Fey, her former 30 Rock castmates (and actor Glenn Close) as a high-profile example of multi-office collaboration. Led by chief creative officer Tim Gordon and the New York team, and conceived by a Toronto creative duo, the ad launched at the Super Bowl has amassed over 134 million views on YouTube, surpassing the 2023 Super Bowl campaign with Melissa McCarthy, which garnered 118 million views.
Speed is one of the biggest challenges facing marketers today and Z.A.K. has introduced a three-speed model to meet the challenge, says McNab. “For example, when a brand needs to quickly capitalize on a cultural moment, our team structure and process are designed to deliver at high speed.”
Pizza Pizza introduced “Pizza Pizza Pre-Rolls” and the “Hot Box,” celebrating 4/20 with unique snacks and storage solutions.
This is facilitated by continued investment in new technology and talent for its in-house creative content and innovation studio, Zulubot, which is an enabler of speed and efficiency for Z.A.K.’s clients. As an example of what it calls speed three, McNab points to the agency’s recent “4/20”-themed “Pizza Pizza Pre-Rolls” campaign. The promo, which re-imagined pizza as rolled-up joints, was a prime example of a brand taking quick advantage of a culturally relevant moment, going from ideation to national market in just a few weeks.
In March 2024, Z.A.K. was named one of Fast Company’s most innovative companies. The indie shop is no stranger to Fast Company, having been recognized by the magazine’s World-Changing Ideas series for 3 years running (2020, 2021, 2022). “It’s a testament to our entire company and how our offices work together with a common mindset – creativity as the means to drive meaningful business results”, says Stephanie Yung, chief design officer. Innovating thinking from this year includes an AI-inspired take on Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell Soup art. The Z.A.K. team leveraged generative artificial intelligence (AI) to reimagine artwork of the iconic soup can through various artistic styles, which transformed the brand’s Instagram page into a virtual gallery. For Destination BC, the Wall of Wonder leaned into technology and innovation by capturing the beauty of British Columbia while enticing travellers to come and see it for themselves.
For its latest work under the “Welcome to Uncommon” platform, Subaru Canada introduced the new Crosstrek Wilderness as a ferocious beast secured by chains.
But speed isn’t always the answer. CCO’s Jenny Glover and Brian Murray credit the agency’s high caliber strategy team with unearthing powerful consumer insights that have underpinned long-term creative platforms for Z.A.K.’s clients. “We take our time to really nail the platform strategically and creatively. Once that foundation is in place, our team can move at lightning speed to bring innovative creative ideas to life,” says Murray.
In partnership with Destination BC, Z.A.K. immersed international travellers in a Rainforest to Rockies activation – a 26-foot wide wall that appeared in London and Sydney.
With another impressive year’s worth of work, it’s no surprise the indie was awarded Platinum status as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies as vetted by Deloitte. The program recognizes Canadian-owned and managed companies for fearless leadership, relentless innovation, and world-class business practices.
So, if the indie shop’s mantra is to consistently fight sameness, Zulu Alpha Kilo is delivering on that promise. “Nobody gets excited about normal. Normal is invisible,” says Sutton. “We’re a creative business and part of our job is to help marketers move beyond rinse and repeat patterns.”
CONTACT:
Christine McNab
Chief operating officer
christine.mcnab@zulualphakilo.com
The 2024 A-Listers:
VML: Embracing modern creativity to build connected brands
Zerotrillion: New pathways to growth
Edelman: Distilling ideas to amplify impact
Dentsu: Fusing art and science
Will: Think hard. Be brave. Stand out
Media Experts: Building better connections between brands and audiences
Leo Burnett: Creative consultancy approach yields true connections
Weber Shandwick: Charting a path for brands’ future needs
Pomp & Circumstance: Ruthless creativity forges new paths for PR
G&G Advertising: Indie Spirit meets full-service bench strength
